The trip that I just took was definitely about meeting and making new friends.
I always enjoy the sightseeing and being a part of an area, but the true understanding of the culture is by talking to the locals and finding out about their family, jobs, education, hobbies, their favorite foods and what makes them tick.
Some of the people that I got to know had such interesting backgrounds. One of our tour guides from Vietnam has been a tour guide for several years. She works two jobs so that she is able to afford her own home. She is a tour guide and also works in telecommunication. Her immediate family lives in the rural area, but she enjoys being in the big city. Her means of transportation is her motorbike, as she is not able to afford a car.
A young lady that works on the ship is twenty-nine and has two degrees. A degree in economics and her other degree is in law. My question to her was "Why do you work on the ship?" Her reply was that in her country, she would only be paid about $300 a month, even though she has two degrees. What an eye opener? I sometimes forget about all the opportunities that I have available to earn a decent income.
A couple that I met are currently working with the Aboriginals in Australia. The wife works in the office and her husband works for the school driving the bus and cooking the lunches. They have been doing this for a couple of years. Before this opportunity, they operated their own sheep farm. It is always interesting to hear about the occupations of others and how they obtained these jobs.
There was the great staff at the Executive Lounge at the hotel that my husband and I stayed at in Singapore. This team of workers were so kind. The way they treated you, you felt like royalty. The team leader always had a smile on his face and he respected the other staff members. One morning, the lounge was serving a particular fruit that I had never seen or eaten. This man took the time to explain that it was "Dragon Fruit" and was from the Vietnam and Thailand area. The fruit had a hard red shell and the inside meat was white with black seeds. I explained that I had never seen this fruit before. About fifteen minutes later, he brought me the actual fruit and said he wanted me to have it. One thing that I have always noticed is that most people enjoy explaining their culture and they want others to embrace it.
My list could be lengthy regarding all of the interesting people that I met. It just shows me what happens when you open up and allow yourself to get to know people.
One thing that I do know is that my Christmas Card list has grown from 300 to 320!
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